Outdoor lighting fixtures have been widely adopted for illuminating buildings, gardens, pathways, and entrance ways as the nighttime play of light on the landscape and vegetation can aesthetically pleasing as well as providing sufficient light for safely navigating an otherwise dark walkway. Additionally, such lighting provides enhanced security by eliminating hiding places and unobserved entry points for intruders. The most widely used outdoor lighting systems include one or more low voltage lighting fixtures that are connected to a 12 V transformer that is, in turn, connected to a standard 120 VAC line. Other types of lighting that are gaining popularity are solar powered, where the fixtures are connected by a cable to a solar collector panel that is located at a sunny location during daylight hours. Each lighting fixture generally includes housing, a lamp assembly having a halogen or conventional incandescent bulb and a reflector, and a lens or window. Many configurations are known for providing a variety of different lighting effects.
Many outdoor lighting fixtures that are intended to be located at or slightly above ground level are provided with spikes that can be driven into the ground to provide an inexpensive and stable base for supporting the light. Electrical cables, typically containing copper wire, are employed to supply current to the fixtures. Cables that are placed away from a structure or pavement are preferably buried at a shallow depth, or they may lie directly on the ground. Connection of the fixture to the cable typically involves cutting the cable, stripping the cable insulation a short distance from the cut ends, and twisting together the ends of one wire from the fixture and one conductor from the cable within a twist-on wire connector for both sets of wires. Because this connection is vulnerable to moisture, dirt and/or corrosion that can cause the connection to fail, a recommended practice is to enclose the wire ends and wire connectors in a small plastic bag which can be sealed with a potting material (splice gel) to create a permanent watertight seal. The upper edges of the plastic bag can optionally be sealed around the wires above the junction with electrical tape, a rubber band or a cable tie. Because this seal is permanent, replacement of the fixture, or splicing of additional cables, requires that the existing wires be cut and new connections created. Therefore, it is important to make sure there are excess lengths of conductors to allow the new connections to be made. The extra cable length can lead to an additional point of vulnerability because it might extend away from the spike, making it vulnerable to damage by someone digging near the spike, for example, replacing plants, where the extended sections of wire would be.
Another problem encountered by currently existing methods is that a failure in the outdoor lighting fixture can be difficult to diagnose. In most cases where the failure is an incomplete connection, it can be difficult to pinpoint where the wires are actually connected to identify a potentially defective junction. If the connection at a particular fixture is suspected, it may be necessary to remove the spike from the ground and dig a radius around the spike's location because the excess cable may have caused the junction to be offset several inches from the spike.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device and method to facilitate creation of the connection and for providing protection of the junction to ensure the integrity of the connection. The present invention is directed to such an invention.